Science Fiction

Virtual Light

Virtual Light

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  • Create Date：2021-06-27 09:56:48
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
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  • Author：William Gibson
  • ISBN：0241953502
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Summary

San Francisco， the nearish future:

Ex-cop Berry Rydell's lost one job he didn't much like and landed another he likes even less。 Some sunglasses - actually high-end kit involving Virtual Reality and super-sensitive data - were stolen from a courier， and a man named Warbaby's been charged with retrieving them。 Warbaby needs a driver and Rydell is the perfect fit。 But when the courier is killed and Warbaby gets to work - giving Rydell a taste of what's expected and exactly what's at stake - he has second thoughts。 Especially when he comes face to face with Chevette， stealer of sunglasses， who'll land an ex-cop in a heap of trouble。。。

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Reviews

LuisJ ，

A decent Gibson outing but far too short and， in any case， feels to have run out of steam by then end。Also this Penguin edition is very pricey at £8。99 given the length of the book and the paper quality etc。

Jeffrey Dill ，

I liked this story once I got into it but it felt like it took a while before I could actually follow what the heck was happening。

Dee ，

Still in my 80s genre。 Really liked then。 Probably wouldn't re-visit now - or maybe I should。 Still in my 80s genre。 Really liked then。 Probably wouldn't re-visit now - or maybe I should。 。。。more

Bruno Vallone ，

Me gustó el mundo y los personajes de VL。 No me convence la historia。。。 Por ahora Virtual Light < Neuromancer

Wils ，

My introduction to Mr。 William Gibson。

Richard Wilson ，

Another excellent book。William Gibson drops the reader into the middle of one of his excellent near-futures and let’s you work most of it out for yourself。 Another excellent thriller。

Morgan ，

Cyberpunk mixed with horror esque thriller parts really fuckin good

Elena Johansen ，

Three strikes and you're out， I don't really know why I keep trying with Gibson。 I read Neuromancer in college， and while understanding it was a pioneer， thought other more recent cyberpunk novels were better in pretty much every way。 A few years later， for some unknown reason I tried Idoru， and I hated it， and it solidified my belief that Gibson was far too fond of sentence fragments and apparently terrified of including verbs。I found this novel for pennies at a used bookshop， and I can only pl Three strikes and you're out， I don't really know why I keep trying with Gibson。 I read Neuromancer in college， and while understanding it was a pioneer， thought other more recent cyberpunk novels were better in pretty much every way。 A few years later， for some unknown reason I tried Idoru， and I hated it， and it solidified my belief that Gibson was far too fond of sentence fragments and apparently terrified of including verbs。I found this novel for pennies at a used bookshop， and I can only plead temporary insanity for buying it in order to try again to like Gibson。 DNF @ page 70， though at least there were verbs--I have no major complaints about the writing style itself， which has so far been a sticking point with me。I'm genuinely not sure what's more to blame， though， in standing between me and possibly enjoying this story。 By 20% in， where I gave up， there's barely any plot to speak of; I only know that the two main characters are going to meet up and have adventures together with the stolen tech one of them lifted from a rich dude based on the back-cover blurb。 They hadn't met and the secondary main character （a woman） has gotten remarkably little screen time compared to the main-main character （a man。） So there's that。But then， there's just something inherently silly to me about reading a novel in 2021 that was published in 1993 but is about the dystopian future in 2005。 Obviously history didn't happen this way， but even the "future" is badly dated， and who sets their near-future vision only twelve years out？ I couldn't take it seriously， but that's not really the book's fault， is it？ That's just the passing of time。On the other hand， I was bored by all that detail about how the world and society was falling apart， when I could have been having story happen instead。 So if the world-building is getting in the way of the plot， isn't that a problem whether the details themselves are interesting or not？It's all me being philosophical with myself anyway， because I didn't enjoy what I did read and I won't finish it。 I'm over my cyberpunk years， and if I ever do want to get back into it， I'll read authors I already trust instead of repeatedly trying to make myself like this one， just because he did it first。 。。。more

Bill ，

Virtual Light is the 1st book in William Gibson's Bridge trilogy。 I've read a few others of his books and for the most part have enjoyed。 I've not read in any particular order， in fact I've already read the 3rd book in this trilogy， All Tomorrow's Parties， which I also enjoyed。 Virtual Light was an entertaining story， a fascinating look at a possible future and had some excellent characters。Interestingly， Gibson set this story in 2005， so some of his ideas haven't come to reality。。。 thankfully。 Virtual Light is the 1st book in William Gibson's Bridge trilogy。 I've read a few others of his books and for the most part have enjoyed。 I've not read in any particular order， in fact I've already read the 3rd book in this trilogy， All Tomorrow's Parties， which I also enjoyed。 Virtual Light was an entertaining story， a fascinating look at a possible future and had some excellent characters。Interestingly， Gibson set this story in 2005， so some of his ideas haven't come to reality。。。 thankfully。 It's set in California， which is split up into SoCal and NoCal。 Berry Rydell is an ex-cop from Nashville。 He was fired due to a case there and he moved to LA to work with a security company。 In San Francisco we meet Chevette Washington， a bike messenger。 Chevette reminds me of Jessica Alba in Dark Angel。 I had wondered if the book had influenced the Dark Angel TV series but it seems not。 Chevette lives on the Bridge， the old bridge between SF and Oakland。 It's now inhabited by homeless people， who have created their own world， living on the various levels and also up in the bridge supports。 Chevette lives with Skinner， an older man who needs her assistance， in a bit of a symbiotic arrangement。 He saved her and she now looks after him。 Also in SF is Mr。 Yamazaki， a Japanese visitor who is trying to discover the reality of the bridge and community。Chevette steals a pair of sunglasses on one of her deliveries， from an obnoxious man who had harassed her。 In LA， Rydell and his partner， Sublett， while on a security response， cause destruction of a gated home and Rydell is fired。 He is hired by a security company to help recover the sunglasses and is sent to SF。The story basically revolves around the two characters。 Chevette realizes the glasses are more than they appear， people are dying because of them and she is being chased and her life threatened because of them。 Rydell， somewhat bemused by his life， also realizes he is being used and must decide whether help or catch Chevette。 I'll let you read the story to discover how it is all resolved。Gibson has created such a fascinating future。 San Francisco has created a life for the lower classes that is rich and filled with neat people。 The life on the bridge is especially fascinating。 Chevette is an independent woman， forced to be tough as a result of her past experiences。 Her struggles to evade the people out to get her and the sunglasses shows how skilled she is and what a great character she can be。 Rydell grows as the story develops and skillfully uses friends and strangers to help him along the way。 I don't want to ruin the story be elaborating too much but for a first story in a trilogy， it had a satisfying conclusion but also leaves so many tidbits about this new world that you want to keep reading to see more。 Excellent， entertaining， fast paced， action filled， quick flowing story。 （5 stars） 。。。more

Jonathan ，

Closer to a 3。5。

Botvid ，

Man kan läsa Virtual Light som en spänningsroman om ett par försvunna glasögon。 För några år sen löste mamma sitt problem med att hon ständigt tappade bort sina läsglasögon genom att strategiskt placera ut flera par på olika platser i hemmet。 Flödesschemat för det förfarandet ser ut såhär:[Glasögonen är borta] -> [Gå in i nästa rum] -> [Ta glasögonen som ligger i detta rummet] <- [Om dessa glasögon också är borta börja gå tillbaka till steg två] Virtual Light är en plottrig cyberpunkroman som är Man kan läsa Virtual Light som en spänningsroman om ett par försvunna glasögon。 För några år sen löste mamma sitt problem med att hon ständigt tappade bort sina läsglasögon genom att strategiskt placera ut flera par på olika platser i hemmet。 Flödesschemat för det förfarandet ser ut såhär:[Glasögonen är borta] -> [Gå in i nästa rum] -> [Ta glasögonen som ligger i detta rummet] <- [Om dessa glasögon också är borta börja gå tillbaka till steg två] Virtual Light är en plottrig cyberpunkroman som är betydligt mycket mer stil än innehåll。 Jag tror aldrig att jag utan att försöka snabbläsa har läst en bok så snabbt。 Bay Bridge fungerar inte längre som trafikled， utan har förvandlats till en kåkstad。 Virtual Light berättar om ett framtida klassamhälle， där rika personer jobbar inom IT- och kommunikationssfären och fattiga personer jobbar som väktare eller cykelbud， Uber Eats-chaufförer och liknande gigjobb。 Den typen av bud- och tjänsteyrken är för övrigt ett vanligt förekommande tema i den här genren。 En sociolog studerar livet på bron。 Några pingstvänner i en trailer park har fått för sig att Jesus och Helig Ande lever i TV-sändningarna。 Jag minns bara boken som ett kollage av såna här uttryck。 。。。more

Sam ，

I enjoyed Virtual Light more than Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive， but reading these three books back to back have left me feeling frustrated with their shared shortcomings。 They all have a meandering second act and an underwhelming finale， as well as a style that favors big concepts over well-developed scenes and characters。 Neuromancer was high-concept but wore those concepts lightly， with a perfect balance between conceptual backdrop and tight pacing。 Starting with Count Zero， there's a dr I enjoyed Virtual Light more than Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive， but reading these three books back to back have left me feeling frustrated with their shared shortcomings。 They all have a meandering second act and an underwhelming finale， as well as a style that favors big concepts over well-developed scenes and characters。 Neuromancer was high-concept but wore those concepts lightly， with a perfect balance between conceptual backdrop and tight pacing。 Starting with Count Zero， there's a dry， academic quality that starts to infiltrate the prose。 Cut to Virtual Light， in which Gibson introduces Yamazaki， a character who is literally an academic and whose purpose seems to be to provide academic commentary on Gibson's vision of future NoCal and SoCal。 The bridge represents post-modernity - get it？？？Virtual Light starts strong， at least。 The opening chapters that introduce Rydell and Chevette are tightly written and have a fun， satirical take on a world full of shitty contract jobs， inequality， and exploitative media。 I would have been more than happy to read a novel about filming a season of Cops in Trouble， or following Chevette's courier routes through future San Francisco， instead of the convoluted and somewhat dull chase that takes up the last 2/3 of the book。 Like Count Zero and Mona Lisa， this is a book that introduces a bunch of rich， inventive ideas and situations and quickly drops them。 It's an OK read， but ultimately a frustrating one。 。。。more

Bruno ，

Lot of fun， and the inspiration of several pop culture trends/objects。

Maeve ，

every main character in a gibson novel is someone i’d love to smoke meth with。 he writes great fuck-ups and weirdos。 the tv-worshipping christians all speak exactly like gregg turkington

Will Beattie ，

Looking at the reviews， I don't think I'm alone in feeling like the world-building in this book is promising， but the plot itself is pretty forgettable。 I found it difficult to care about the characters or relate to them。 Gibson's writing style， which seems to be trying to replicate speech patterns， gives the narrative an urgency。 But it also makes it extremely difficult to keep track of what is happening。 Probably not the best choice for reading just before sleep。 Looking at the reviews， I don't think I'm alone in feeling like the world-building in this book is promising， but the plot itself is pretty forgettable。 I found it difficult to care about the characters or relate to them。 Gibson's writing style， which seems to be trying to replicate speech patterns， gives the narrative an urgency。 But it also makes it extremely difficult to keep track of what is happening。 Probably not the best choice for reading just before sleep。 。。。more

Sarah ，

Really cool worldbuilding。 The plot and character development has a lot in common with Gibson's other work。 Really cool worldbuilding。 The plot and character development has a lot in common with Gibson's other work。 。。。more

James Tomasino ，

Vibrant！

Dewayne Stark ，

The book was written 1n 1993 and I am not sure when the story take place but the author can not know what has taken place by the time I am reading this。 Analog TV and Candlestick Park are now a thing of the past。 Cell phones with batteries that you purchase at the convenient seems unusual。 The bike ridden is some type of mountain bike that has future features。

horselover ，

my tenth gibson book！ for a writer whose works i only sort of half-like that is a lot。 but his brand of meandering science fiction has become a safe bet to me， because there is always something there i like and when his work finds a moment of perfect unity or hits on just the right subject matter （pretty much all of pattern recognition） - bits of worldbuilding， brainy exchanges， larger cultural commentary， or leaps of speculative philosophy which are as good as anything in pynchon and delillo。 - my tenth gibson book！ for a writer whose works i only sort of half-like that is a lot。 but his brand of meandering science fiction has become a safe bet to me， because there is always something there i like and when his work finds a moment of perfect unity or hits on just the right subject matter （pretty much all of pattern recognition） - bits of worldbuilding， brainy exchanges， larger cultural commentary， or leaps of speculative philosophy which are as good as anything in pynchon and delillo。 - then yeah he's among my favorite。 but this one， like the other bridge books and aspects of sprawl and blue ant is like a whole lot of expository build up toward one or two action set pieces that really don't do anything for me and a sudden over-explanatory and over-convenient denouement。 gibson is maybe even a great writer hiding within the shoddy pop culture surrounds of a poor one。 and so i keep reading him。 searching for those nuggets。 and because i like the guy。 i find him personable。 and because walking around Vancouver it's probably a monthly occurrence some lanky older guy in glasses passes by me and I'm convinced it is him。 like a kind of bigfoot sighting。 I'll be sad when i finally do run out of gibson books to read。 。。。more

Jamie Kalb ，

After loving Gibson's Sprawl trilogy， I have mixed feelings about the first installment in his Bridge series。 On one hand， the central plot is driven by a poorly explained McGuffin and the resolution is too easy， too convenient。 But on the other， the book has enough sprinkles of sheer brilliance throughout to be easily worth the read。 The setting here is some of Gibson's best work。 After loving Gibson's Sprawl trilogy， I have mixed feelings about the first installment in his Bridge series。 On one hand， the central plot is driven by a poorly explained McGuffin and the resolution is too easy， too convenient。 But on the other， the book has enough sprinkles of sheer brilliance throughout to be easily worth the read。 The setting here is some of Gibson's best work。 。。。more

Rae Lindenberg ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book is。。。bad。 Not horrible， just something you would expect from a high schooler attempting their first full-length story — in which this student gets at best a C。 This story doesn’t really have fleshed-out characters， despite a lot of time spent learning where these characters come from by the time we meet them。 But “a lot of time” and “quality time” getting to know these characters are not the same thing。 This book spend times setting up characters that have nothing to do with the plot （ This book is。。。bad。 Not horrible， just something you would expect from a high schooler attempting their first full-length story — in which this student gets at best a C。 This story doesn’t really have fleshed-out characters， despite a lot of time spent learning where these characters come from by the time we meet them。 But “a lot of time” and “quality time” getting to know these characters are not the same thing。 This book spend times setting up characters that have nothing to do with the plot （if you can call it that） and very little with how the events of the novel impact the characters and their development moving forward。This book’s plot is VERY thin - with the all-important “VR glasses” being a near complete McGuffin bc we never really understand that the glasses are for and we only find out what “the bad guys” plans are in the second to last chapter and they have。。。next to nothing。。。to do。。。with the VR glasses？？？And then there’s the issue of Shapely， Skinner， and Yamasaki。 Three people with a lot of time — and often CHAPTERS — dedicated to them （thinking that somehow they will become relevant to the plot） and they have nothing to do with the plot。 AT。 ALL。 The only thing these people seem to be used for is to help pepper in some world building。The ONLY reason I give this book 2 stars instead of 1 is because you get a sense that Gibson had **potential** with the world he clearly wanted to show to us and didn’t have a good plot to do so。 GIBSON clearly knows the ins and outs of the world he has created but we don’t get the time or characters through which to really。。。care about the world at all。 Gibson clearly had a unique idea of what the future might look like and tried to build a plot to fit this world in his head。。。it’s too bad this is the story he settled for。 Interesting attempt at world-building， poor-poor execution。 All in all， not worth the time。 Just read the Wikipedia summary and save yourself some time。 。。。more

Will ，

"As she'd gotten stronger， and her new hair grew in， she'd started ranging farther from the room on top of the tower。 Not into either city， at first， though she'd walked over to Oakland a couple of times， over the cantilever， and looked out at it。 Things felt different over there， though she was never sure why。 But where she felt best was on the suspension bridge， all wrapped in it， all the people hanging and hustling and doing what they did， and the way the whole thing grew a little， changed a "As she'd gotten stronger， and her new hair grew in， she'd started ranging farther from the room on top of the tower。 Not into either city， at first， though she'd walked over to Oakland a couple of times， over the cantilever， and looked out at it。 Things felt different over there， though she was never sure why。 But where she felt best was on the suspension bridge， all wrapped in it， all the people hanging and hustling and doing what they did， and the way the whole thing grew a little， changed a little， every day。 There wasn't anything like that， not that she knew of， not up in Oregon。At first she didn't even know that it made her feel good; it was just this weird thing， maybe the fever had left her a little crazy， but one day she'd decided she was just happy， a little happy， and she'd have to get used to it。But it turned out you could be sort of happy and restless at the same time， so she started keeping back a little of Skinner's junk-money to use to explore the city。 And that was plenty to do， for a while。 She found Haight Street and walked it all the way to the wall around Skywalker， with the Temple of Doom and everything sticking up in there， but she didn't try to go in。 There was this long skinny park that led up to it， called the Panhandle， and that was still public。 Way too public， she thought， with people， mostly old or anyway looking that way， stretched out side by side， wrapped in silvery plastic to keep the rays off， this crinkly stuff that glittered like those Elvis suits in a video they'd showed them sometimes， up in Beaverton。 It kind of made her think of maggots， like if somebody rolled each one up in its own little piece of foil。 They had a way of moving like that， just a little bit， and it creeped her out。The Haight sort of creeped her out， too， even though there were stretches that felt almost like you were on the bridge， nobody normal in sight and people doing things right out in public， like the cops were never going to come at all。 But she wasn't ever scared， on the bridge， maybe because there were always people around she knew， people who lived there and knew Skinner。 But she liked looking around the Haight because there were a lot of little shops， a lot of places that sold cheap food。 She knew this bagel place where you could buy them a day old， and Skinner said they were better that way anyway。 He said fresh bagels were the next thing to poison， like they'd plug you up or something。 He had a lot of ideas like that。 Most of the shops， she could actually go into， if she was quiet and smiled a little and kept her hands in her pockets。" 。。。more

Dan Williamson ，

Three things struck me reading this book again 29 years after it was published: 1） an offhand mention that the president is black。 2） mention of many people walking around wearing masks。 3） a child's recollection of being sent home from school because of a pandemic。Three throwaway lines or paragraphs that have unusual resonance in 2020。 Cyberpunk isn't supposed to become real。 Three things struck me reading this book again 29 years after it was published: 1） an offhand mention that the president is black。 2） mention of many people walking around wearing masks。 3） a child's recollection of being sent home from school because of a pandemic。Three throwaway lines or paragraphs that have unusual resonance in 2020。 Cyberpunk isn't supposed to become real。 。。。more

Julian ，

My friend kept telling me about this book where the bay bridge no longer functions to connect the west and east bay， but is just a bunch of homeless encampments。 I could never remember what book that was。 Well， I read it。 Honestly， a huge part of the appeal of the book is the architecture and cultural history of the bay area and the los angeles basin， both of which I've spend a lot of time in。 Some parts are dated -- many of the queer folks and folks of color seem one-dimensionally entertaining My friend kept telling me about this book where the bay bridge no longer functions to connect the west and east bay， but is just a bunch of homeless encampments。 I could never remember what book that was。 Well， I read it。 Honestly， a huge part of the appeal of the book is the architecture and cultural history of the bay area and the los angeles basin， both of which I've spend a lot of time in。 Some parts are dated -- many of the queer folks and folks of color seem one-dimensionally entertaining or aren't "on stage" for much of the story。 Other parts， duh it's speculative fiction， are so spot on， like the gig economy， the dissolution of government police officers into private sector spies and hired muscle， the value of information over life and property， the blending of virtual reality and built reality， the disappearance of the middle class， etc。 Not to mention the alternate history of the AIDS epidemic in the context of a newer epidemic。 People were wearing masks！ A surprisingly suspenseful and well-plotted story with robust world-building。 I needed something light and entertaining during this season and this fit the bill。 。。。more

Solitaire ，

Classic， read it。

David C Ward ，

Cyber Grime: postAIDS， postEarthquake Cali。 The social structure has collapsed。 A chase after a pair of virtual intelligence sunglasses stolen by a bike courier who finds herself allied with one of the chasers， an ex cop with impulse control issues。 Early Gibson and the problem is structural: the set up and back stories take too long （and are nonetheless re summarized several times） so that the show down is rushed and the question of the larger stakes gets muddled。 With dystopic sci fi it’s alwa Cyber Grime: postAIDS， postEarthquake Cali。 The social structure has collapsed。 A chase after a pair of virtual intelligence sunglasses stolen by a bike courier who finds herself allied with one of the chasers， an ex cop with impulse control issues。 Early Gibson and the problem is structural: the set up and back stories take too long （and are nonetheless re summarized several times） so that the show down is rushed and the question of the larger stakes gets muddled。 With dystopic sci fi it’s always fun to see what is or isn’t anticipated: eg people have personal fax machines， not email; despite tech’s best efforts， head’s up displays in glasses and virtual reality haven’t really happened。 The Gap has gone bankrupt though。 And I’m surprised the automatic tattoo scanner/inker hasn’t happened - yet。 。。。more

Rick ，

Have to think about this book for a bit。 It was enjoyable but I just didn't care about the characters。 They were more likeable by the end， but both of them just seemed so。。。flat。 Gibson's style is ever-present， and the gritty world that they inhabit is demonstrated well but again， I just didn't care to follow them through it。 I felt this way about Count Zero as well。Neuromancer was a fun read and I liked it the most so far， but sometimes I wish Gibson would try writing in other genres just to se Have to think about this book for a bit。 It was enjoyable but I just didn't care about the characters。 They were more likeable by the end， but both of them just seemed so。。。flat。 Gibson's style is ever-present， and the gritty world that they inhabit is demonstrated well but again， I just didn't care to follow them through it。 I felt this way about Count Zero as well。Neuromancer was a fun read and I liked it the most so far， but sometimes I wish Gibson would try writing in other genres just to see how far he could push his style。3。5/5 。。。more

Ryan ，

Scary how prescient this book was from “cops in trouble” to growing up attending school wearing masks in a pandemic， VR/AR， and probably some other things I didn’t notice it’s crazy this is a novel from the early 90’s。 Though with its 90’s technoptimist perspective and well， bike messengers being a thing。

Andy ，

Nutrient-rich popcorn。 A great read。

Jamie ，

Is there a plot， characters， a "story" here？ Sure， I guess so。 But it all seems like window dressing to the dystopian "have nots" sticking it to the "haves" and mega corporations in near future "experience"。 Slightly more comprehensible than Gibson's earlier work， with occasional attempts at humor， but still， if this were a painting people would call it a mood piece。 Some people would get it， most would not， though many would pretend to。 Is there a plot， characters， a "story" here？ Sure， I guess so。 But it all seems like window dressing to the dystopian "have nots" sticking it to the "haves" and mega corporations in near future "experience"。 Slightly more comprehensible than Gibson's earlier work， with occasional attempts at humor， but still， if this were a painting people would call it a mood piece。 Some people would get it， most would not， though many would pretend to。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Virtual Light

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Virtual Light&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Virtual Light&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0